How to move to Goa – Part 2

What you need to know before you wind up your life and move to the beach

This is the concluding story in the two-part series on how to relocate to Goa. Read Part 1 here.

When Vivek and I packed our bags and moved out of Bengaluru, I dreamed of a quaint home in an idyllic Goan village. I had visions of beginning my day out in the porch, surrounded by paddy fields, watching buffaloes amble along as I worked on the book I wanted to write then. But soon, reality kicked in.

I learned quickly that Internet access would dictate where I would eventually live. That this tiny state has deceptively long distances and the closest village to my husband’s place of work was a good 30 minutes away—a commute he flatly rejected. So, we settled for Panjim. It took approximately two weeks and looking at about a dozen flats to find our home: a fourth-floor apartment in a building without a lift. Three weeks were spent getting a telephone and internet connection. And another 10 days were spent convincing the gas agency that we really needed to cook.

Once the honeymoon period fades away, the mundane issues of life begin to take over: a cosy village house that reveals a dozen roof leaks with the first rain; the plumber who’s playing hooky, and the patchy internet that wrecks all plans of remote working. Living in Goa, enjoyable as it is, comes with its share of hurdles. Here’s some help to get you started:

Finding a home

An old Goan home with a shell window. Photo: Robert Harding Picture Library Ltd/AlamyRents

While buying property is still an expensive proposition, renting an apartment or even a house is quite affordable. In Santa Cruz and Caranzalem neighbourhoods of Panjim, you can get an unfurnished 2-BHK apartment for Rs10,000–Rs15,000. At the other end of the spectrum are 2- or 3-BHK apartments in upmarket colonies closer to the sea, or areas like Dona Paula or Altinho. These could cost you around Rs45,000–Rs50,000. Rentals drop drastically as you move away from the town and the sea. A large home with a porch and garden in villages like Arpora, Succour, Curtorim or Benaulim can cost as much or even less than renting a 2- or 3-BHK flat in Panjim. When Pooja Mitra moved in from Bengaluru, she found a home in Nagoa village, 23km from Panjim. Her house has two bedrooms, a spacious living-dining area, a kitchen and a large porch with compound space around her home. For this, she pays roughly the same as what Vivek and I pay for our two-bedroom apartment in Dona Paula. That she was able to afford this all on her NGO salary is proof of the reasonable cost of living.

The truth is, no matter what your budget or how much you spend on rent, you’ll still get a good deal. “The quality of life I have here is phenomenal considering Mumbai, where I’d get a small room for the same price,” says Rahul Datta from his sea-facing apartment in Odxel, Dona Paula.

Neighbourhoods

Want to be close to urban areas and amenities? Pick Panaji, Porvorim, Mapusa or Margao.

Want to live away from the town, in a vibrant community of new migrants? Try Aldona, Succour, Siolim or Colva.

Need the beach and don’t mind the tourists? Aim for Arpora, Utorda, Benaulim.

Cost of living On the whole, Goa is more affordable than most parts of the country. Lower taxes make many essentials cheaper (petrol, for example, is currently priced at Rs56/litre). While prices of vegetables, fruits and gourmet produce may be at par with cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru, kitchen staples like wheat, rice, dal and sugar tend to cost a touch lower than the rest. Dining out is more affordable too, thanks largely to the pocket-friendly alcohol prices. Though a lot depends on the lifestyle choices you make, a single person can live comfortably with about Rs20,000–Rs25,000 per month. For a couple without kids, it would be Rs60,000–Rs70,000.

Income, etc Depending on where you come from and whether you join an established company or a start-up, prepare to take a pay-cut of up to 25%. However, your outgoings too will be considerably lower. Having quit my full-time job as a writer with the corporate communications team at Ernst & Young, Bengaluru, Vivek and I survived quite comfortably on his income for 10 months until I mobilised work options for myself as a freelancer. Career prospects in Goa depend entirely on the field you are in. Hospitality, entertainment, F&B are hot sectors, but finance, banking, IT, sales and marketing are picking up. Over the past few years, a large number of big and small companies dealing with technology, design, and communications have set up shop in the state.

Starting up? Goa’s famous susegad vibe notwithstanding, it’s surprisingly easy to set up a business in the state. Snigdha Manchanda, who moved from Mumbai to start her line of gourmet teas, had excellent experiences working with the government while procuring her trade and food licences. “The paperwork was a breeze! I had the licences within three weeks and I did not pay a single rupee as bribe,” she says.

For those in the F&B space, Goa is a good market to test a product, says Sunder Aaron, former VP at Sony Pix, who is working on two culinary ventures—Chicken Man and Pizza Mia. “The cross section of society is so diverse, it’s a great way to assess if your product works with expats, locals and even foreign nationals.”

There’s also a bunch of resources to help entrepreneurs. “Many of us are developing a startup ecosystem here by pooling resources, sharing office space and so on,” says Snigdha, who started her little business by sharing office space with a design agency. Here are some groups that will help:

Start-Up Goa: A grassroots initiative that provides valuable information and support to companies looking to start-up in Goa. It organises regular workshops (Design Meet-Ups, for example) to assist professionals and entrepreneurs.

Transport The first thing that hit us when we moved was a complete lack of public transport. You’ll need your own vehicle to take you around. If you’re testing waters, it’s best to rent a bike. Since roads are narrow, parking is sometimes an issue; this is a convenient and efficient way to get around.

Connectivity Internet infrastructure in Goa is still catching up with the rest of the country. Coverage is weak and costs are high. If you work depends heavily on it, spend some time to find the best location in terms of connectivity. While BSNL is more affordable and prices are closer to those in cities (Rs800 for a 1Mbps connection), speeds are inconsistent and service tends to be unprofessional and painful. Even getting connections approved and set up takes longer, forcing people to choose private players like Gwave or Hathway. Their service is marginally better and speeds are higher, but so is the cost (Rs1,800 for 1Mbps with Hathway). Speeds offered in urban parts like Panjim, Mapusa and Margao go up to 2—4Mbps, but may sometimes be capped.

Final word Moving to Goa requires adjustment, especially if you are scaling back from life in a metro. You need to dial-down your expectations, and be fairly clear on what you value about the experience instead. For many, the slow life is a big draw–a plus that outweighs many other minuses. “I was getting up at 4am to do yoga, we were sleeping at 9 or 10, eating extremely well, not drinking, just living a very simple, clean life. If we had been trying to set up a home office that had to run efficiently we’d be pulling our hair out, but it was perfect,” says author Deepti Kapoor.

Much as I love my trips back home to Bengaluru, it is landing back in Goa that makes me feel at peace again. As I exit the airport and drive down the tree-lined highway back to Dona Paula, I feel my breathing slow down again. Yes, I’ve come back to slower Internet speeds, nonexistent public transport and close to no home-delivery, but I’ve come home.

“You know that Seth Godin quote about setting up a life that you don’t feel like escaping? That’s what Goa has given me,” Vivek says, looking the six years we’ve spent here, three of which were holiday-free. I can’t think of a better way to sum up what moving to Goa has meant to me.